Vacuum cleaners that force air through a porous bag which forms a dust and dirt collecting enclosure have long been known in the art. While such devices are particularly adapted for and effective in collecting even fine particles of dust and dirt, a vacuum cleaner equipped with a bag alone does little to freshen and deodorize the air that passes from the bag. In fact, the exhausted air may even pick up undesirable odors from dirt already in the bag. These odors are then transferred to the room being vacuumed.
This unfortunate problem has been recognized in the art and various attempts have been made to fully address and solve the problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,698 to Renaker et al. discloses a vacuum cleaner equipped with a scent dispensing arrangement. More particularly, a portion of the air exhausted from the vacuum bag is directed through a scent dispenser including a fragrance tablet. The fragrance tablet readily volatilizes to mix with the air which is then exhausted into the room.
While this system does serve to provide some air freshening, it does suffer from several drawbacks. More specifically, the operator must remember to periodically add a new fragrance tablet to the scent dispenser, otherwise, the system is effectively rendered inoperative. Additionally, it should be appreciated that only some of the exhausted air is routed through the scent dispenser. The other portion remains untreated and is exhausted into the room. Hence, this system still serves to spread some odors from the vacuum bag into the room in this untreated air.
It should also be appreciated that vacuum cleaners of the upright type typically include rotating agitators that have brushes that scrub the carpet being cleaned. Under certain conditions, such as the cleaning of a wool carpet in dry winter air, electro-static charges are produced by the scrubbing action of the brushes of the rotating agitator against the carpet. These electro-static charges tend to build up in the vacuum cleaner and may actually be transferred to the operator manipulating the vacuum cleaner through a control handle. As a result, the operator may receive a sharp shock as, for example, when reaching for a door knob. While not a particularly dangerous problem, many find the resulting shock uncomfortable and even disconcerting. Accordingly, it would be preferred if the build-up of electro-static charges directly leading to the shock could be avoided.